The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
WASHINGTON POST • July 18, 2024
the fire season in Canada has suddenly come alive with a recent flare-up of blazes reminiscent of last summer, the country’s worst fire season on record. One of the biggest eruptions of thick smoke from Canada’s wildfires is beginning to drift south, with the Midwest, Great Lakes and eventually Northeast potentially in its path.
SCARBOROUGH LEADER • July 18, 2024
The November ballot includes a request to replenish the Scarborough land bond fund, a town fund that was created in 2000 for the purpose of purchasing land for conservation. Scarborough voters have overwhelmingly supported every land bond referendum since the creation of the land bond fund in 2000. The town has contributed $7.5 million towards the acquisition of land for conservation in this 24-year span. No other town in Maine has spent as many local dollars on conserving their natural resources. There is approximately $14,000 remaining in the town’s land bond fund. The request before the Town Council is for $6 million. With a town goal to conserve 30% of Scarborough by 2030, more funds are needed. There are many public and economic benefits to land conservation that make this goal so important for Scarborough.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 18, 2024
A second fox has tested positive for rabies in Bath. That follows a case on June 28 involving an older fox in the same area, according to Police Chief Andrew Booth. The young fox was spotted about 6 a.m. Monday wandering around the Big Apple and walking into traffic on Route 1, Booth said, adding that callers reported that the animal was acting sick. Officers later found the fox near Cottage Street, where they determined it wasn’t “acting normally and was potentially rabid.” They captured the fox and euthanized it, Booth said Thursday morning. Subsequent testing confirmed the fox had rabies.
TIMES RECORD • July 18, 2024
Established in 2002, River~Link is a recreational trail and wildlife corridor connecting the Sheepscot and Damariscotta rivers. It extends from the northern forests to the southern marshes, encompassing woodlands where bobcats roam and lawns where groundhogs hibernate. Land for Maine’s Future secured the initial funding that launched the River~Link project, sparking a partnership among several neighboring land trusts, municipalities, nonprofit organizations and state agencies that has grown ever since. In the future, Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust hopes to merge the River~Link corridor with a more extensive project called 12 Rivers to expand the continuous tract from the Kennebec River to Penobscot Bay.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 18, 2024
YMCA of Southern Maine has suspended day camp programming this summer at the Portland Branch and at Otter Pond in Standish as the organization strives to get its membership and finances back to pre-pandemic levels following deep staffing and program cuts.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 18, 2024
How much more of U.S. Rep. Jared Golden’s voting with Republicans are we as Maine Democrats going to stand for? It seems clear that Golden is simply setting himself up for a run at Susan Collins’ seat in the Senate or the Maine governorship in 2026. His failure to support/introduce bills while currently a U.S. congressional representative — which protect our environment from the ravages of vehicle emissions, protect our fish and wildlife, encourage solar and wind power generation over coal and oil — are the reasons he is an unreliable Democrat. ~ David McKechnie, Saco
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 18, 2024
Permaculture, an alternative farming method focused on creating self-sustaining systems, is moving from the fringes of agriculture to wider adoption. So is agroforestry, which uses forest land in tandem with growing food and raising animals. Interest in both is large enough to sustain Maine’s first conference dedicated to the two practices, happening this weekend in Unity. The Maine Permaculture and Agroforestry Convergence also invites people with interests in mycology, herbalism, food sovereignty, traditional skills, activism and homesteading. The event is organized by the Maine Ecological Design School.
SUN JOURNAL • July 17, 2024
Gone now are the many other island farms that once dotted the Androscoggin River in Western Maine; Swain stands as the last island farmer in this part of the state. He says access was most likely why others no longer island farm. His own access, sometimes very difficult, is mostly doable. While Swain’s land flooded in 2023, he dismisses it as, “an odd year … a 100-year flood.” Over the years, Swain’s father acquired many of the smaller adjoining plots that now constitute his son’s expansive 100-acre farm. While he actively farms 60 of those acres, he also tends to additional parcels owned by others who rely on him for haying services.
MAINE PUBLIC • July 17, 2024
A test to see if old Christmas trees can help shore up eroded sand dunes has shown some success at Popham Beach State Park. In some places, rows of trees have been completely covered in sand, creating ridges that are now colonized by dune grass. That's a promising development after the dunes were wiped out in back-to-back storms this winter. Beach erosion is a natural process and typically sand depleted in the winter gets restored in warmer months. But when storm damage puts human infrastructure at risk, dunes are a critical shield, said Peter Slovinsky of the Maine Geological Survey in a tour of the restoration area. "Humans love coastlines, and we've put a lot of infrastructure in harm's way, so sand dunes are nature's way of protecting the uplands," Slovinsky said.
SUN JOURNAL • July 17, 2024
A New Sharon man who was missing four days last week is recovering at a rehabilitation center in Franklin County. Michael Altmaier, 75, fell off a cliff and hit his head while walking a trail at Mt. Blue State Park in Weld, his brother Robert Altmaier said. Michael slipped on some moss and did what he could to stay alive with no food, including drinking water from sources, Robert said. He walked around each day hoping he would see something, find someone.
LIVERMORE FALLS ADVERTISER • July 17, 2024
Family, friends, officials and the agricultural community gathered Tuesday to share memories of longtime farmer L. Herbert “Bussie” York. The lifelong Farmington resident died July 9 at the age of 86. Oldest daughter Terry Zacker said her father never thought he was anyone special. “He was just a small-town farmer who worked hard every day to provide for his family and to be one of the many who grew food to sustain others. His life is a testament to hard work and resiliency, to supporting his community and those in it, and to listening to and learning from others he met along the journey.”
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 17, 2024
Belfast city councilors unanimously voted on Tuesday night to launch a pilot drop-off site at the city’s transfer station for residents who want to convert their food waste into compost. When the one-year pilot program starts, residents will be able to drop off their food scraps at the transfer station in one of two ways. They can either leave their scraps without paying any direct fees, and not receive anything in return. Or they’ll be able to pay an $18 monthly fee to drop off scraps they’ve collected in a bucket provided to them through the program, and in return, they’ll receive composted material for their home gardens. A start date for the program was not mentioned on Tuesday.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 17, 2024
The proposed four-lane highway from Portland to Gorham sounds like the next road ready to be paved with good intentions. Why not address southern Maine’s traffic issues with less intrusive, more cost-effective and reversible solutions? Expand bus service with modern equipment that runs efficiently and frequently. Widen existing roads to include bicycle lanes. Let’s embrace sustainable, reversible transportation solutions that will benefit everyone in the long run. It can be done. ~ Tilman Reitzle, Scarborough
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 13, 2024
In Maine, we’re spoiled by the many farmers markets that offer an array of goods, from fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables to naturally raised meats, milk, eggs, cheeses, baked goods, coffee, maple syrup, honey, soaps and salves. And don’t forget the seedlings, cut flowers, crafts and other items often for sale. Here’s a list of markets in southern part of the state where you can support local vendors.
MAINE PUBLIC • July 17, 2024
Five thousand acres of Maine forestland has been preserved under a new easement to protect important freshwater resources. The parcel on Eagle Lake in northern Hancock County is rare in that it contains the headwaters of three rivers, said Forest Society of Maine president Karin Tilberg. The Passadumkeag, Union, and Narraguagus rivers all originate on the land, and protecting their source has positive impacts all along their course to the sea, Tilberg said. It's an example of how conservation groups are increasingly looking at how to protect whole ecosystems, she added. "Keeping these ecosystems intact is very important for Maine, very important for fish and wildlife, for water quality and for climate control," Tilberg said. The land, owned by the Dysart family, will remain open for fishing, hunting, recreation and logging.
TIMES RECORD • July 17, 2024
Midcoast artists are grappling with the uncertainty of the present as the environmental crisis escalates. Mary McKone, a ceramic artist in Georgetown, and Jöel Levasseur, a multimedia artist in Damariscotta, wonder how art should address climate change. In their current exhibitions, they show that hope, while it may be around the corner, is not yet grasped. McKone’s new exhibition, “Come to the Table,” and her ongoing Maine Endangered Species Series emphasize that saving the planet is not just up for political debate but creative banter, too. Similarly, LeVasseur’s latest fixation with mark-making points to the dooming reality that art cannot save us.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 17, 2024
More than 5,000 acres of forest in the northernmost section of Hancock County will now be permanently protected through a conservation easement. The newly conserved parcels include Eagle Lake in Township 34 MD, which is the headwaters for three different rivers — the Union, Passadumkeag and Narraguagus — that offer critical habitat for endangered Atlantic salmon, according to the Forest Society of Maine. The land is also culturally important for the Wabanaki Nations. The land will continue to be owned by the Dysart family and managed for logging, while also publicly accessible for hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, ATVing and other recreational uses.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 17, 2024
Maine regulators are scrutinizing a Spanish energy giant’s agreement to buy the parent company of Central Maine Power Co. as they consider whether to approve the $2.5 billion deal. Iberdrola is seeking to purchase the remaining 18.4% of shares of Avangrid Inc., CMP’s parent. Avangrid, a publicly traded company, would become privately held, exempt from disclosing detailed reports on transactions and its financial performance. Iberdrola’s move raises the issue of foreign ownership that figured prominently in last year’s unsuccessful campaign to replace CMP and Versant Power with a publicly owned and controlled utility. CMP serves more than 636,000 electricity customers in Maine.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 17, 2024
A small Maine volunteer group has big plans to rebuild a regional industry in a way they believe will also benefit the environment, particularly soil, and human health. To make it happen, the Maine Fibershed plans this year to found chapters in each county, work with local groups and research new uses for wool, adapting a national model as they go. Farmers, for these purposes, include people who raise fiber animals, plant fiber producers and those who grow plants for dye. In Maine, where fiber is mostly a small-scale industry, some farmers ship raw products as far away as the Midwest and even Utah for the expensive processing they need to make it to market.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 17, 2024
Situated in the middle and south of the horseshoe-shaped Sebascodegan Great Island, Quahog Bay offers paddlers opportunities to explore a multitude of islands and inlets. A circumnavigation of substantial Yarmouth Island is often an option. ~ Ron Chase
